Break out the coupons — Virginia shoppers won’t have a sales tax holiday this year

By Dick Uliano
June 28, 2023 | 11:04 PM

Virginia won’t be getting its annual sales tax holiday this summer, but the tradition will continue in Maryland.

Noticeably absent from a set of new laws kicking in July 1 in Virginia is a law that would have extended the annual three-day sales tax holiday weekend.

In the past, around August, Virginia shoppers could buy back-to-school items, hurricane-preparedness products and energy-efficient appliances tax free.

Macaulay Porter, spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, pointed to Senate Democrats, who she said stalled the budget process at the expense of critical items, such as the sales tax holiday.

Maryland’s tax-free week will be held this year starting Aug. 13 through Aug. 19. Sales tax will be waived on clothes and shoes priced under $100 and the first $40 worth of backpacks and other book bags.

Before it was repealed in 2009, D.C. had sales tax holidays in August and November.

Breaking the silence around suicide: A Virginia mother shares thoughts on prevention

By Kate Ryan
September 1, 2026 | 4:22 AM

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and Betsy Stephenson, an Alexandria, Virginia, resident and a mother who lost her son to suicide, wants people to talk about it. "By not talking about suicide, we are not going to make it go away. In fact, I think that we could inadvertently give it a little more power than it deserves," she told WTOP. One of the things that Stephenson wants families to know is that people who are struggling can appear to be doing well. "You can be very high-functioning as a depressed person or an anxious person," she said. "You can be connected socially. You can be doing well at school or work. You can be making plans, smiling, laughing, engaged, but still be struggling deeply, you know, cosmically, inside."

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